MIDLAND, MI -- Midland teacher Amy Burks is all set for her vacations this school year.

Thanks to CheapCaribbean.com, an online travel agency for beach vacations, Burks will get to enjoy four vacations for each of her breaks during the 2017-18 school year.

Burks is a kindergarten teacher at Siebert Elementary School in Midland, where she has been teaching since 2010.

"I had no idea. I thought they said it was a quick announcement for the staff. My room is in front of the school and I saw a truck from a Mexican restaurant out front and I saw them unloading food and I thought who has ordered food now," Burks said.

She soon found out that the food was a part of a celebration to award her for diligent work with her students and touching the lives of her colleagues.

The travel agency decorated the school's media center on Friday, Sept. 8, with festive decor and held a party for Burks with Mexican food and goodies from the company.

Burks was nominated by colleague and friend Megan Storm.

Storm had to submit a poem to the travel agency about how Burks had made an impact on her life.

"She's always so helpful and she takes on so much stuff during the year. She's amazing with the kids and I just thought that she deserved it," Storm said.

Storm said that Burks has late nights, early mornings and sometimes weekends at her job.

Social media manager Taylor Hardy with CheapCaribbean said Burks was nominated along with more than 400 other teachers. The nominations were submitted during Teacher Appreciation Week in May

In July, Burks was selected as a top five finalist and from the there, voting was opened up to the the public and Burks won with the most votes.

Hardy said this is the first time the company has awarded this prize.

"We just want to appreciate them as teachers and everything that they do," Hardy said.

The grand prize is called "Beach 4 Every Break" and Burks will be able to take a plus one to the beach destinations at resorts in Cancun and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico; Playa Bonita, Panama; and La Romana, Dominican Republic.

Each of the vacations is four nights and five days and includes hotel and air fare, transportation to and from the airport, food, beverages and all taxes.

"Teachers are a rather large part of our customer base. We just wanted to do something that's gonna thank the teachers", Hardy said.

Burks said she plans on taking her husband on at least one of her vacations.